The Cruel Sea in Byron Bay

The Cruel Sea are an Australian alternative rock and blues band formed in Sydney in 1987. Initially an instrumental group, they established their best-known sound after singer Tex Perkins joined. The band’s central releases include the albums This Is Not the Way Home, The Honeymoon Is Over and Three Legged Dog, and the songs “Better Get a Lawyer,” “Black Stick” and “The Honeymoon Is Over.” The band performed at the 1994 Big Day Out, then opened Australian shows on the Rolling Stones’ Voodoo Lounge Tour the following year. The Cruel Sea returned to national touring in 2023 for their first such run in a decade. Those concerts became a tribute to longtime guitarist and keyboardist James Cruickshank, who died before the tour began.